December 19, 2024
ZENITH ENERGY
LTD.
("Zenith" or the
"Company")
Positive Result in ICC-1
Arbitration against ETAP
Zenith Energy Ltd. ("Zenith"
or the "Company")
(LSE: ZEN; OSE: ZENA; OTC PINK:
ZENAF), the listed international energy production and
development company, is pleased to announce that
it has now received the final decision of the Arbitral Tribunal in
relation to the claims presented by its fully owned subsidiary
registered in Barbados, Ecumed Petroleum Zarzis Ltd ("EPZ"), against the national oil company
of the Republic of Tunisia, Entreprise Tunisienne d'Activités Pétrolières ("ETAP"), before
the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris ("ICC-1 Arbitration).
Background
The ICC-1 Arbitration was
commenced following ETAP's failure to comply with
its contractual obligations to pay for oil produced and sold by EPZ
in Tunisia.
On November 29, 2023, the Company
announced that the Arbitral Tribunal had rejected
ETAP's request to include the Republic of
Tunisia as co-defendant and ordered ETAP to pay
approximately EUR 120,000 in costs.
Final Decision - Award
The Arbitral Tribunal has ordered
ETAP to pay a principal amount of US$6,139,539, reflecting a
revision in the price of Brent crude oil used as a basis of
calculation, approximately US$2,700,000 late payment interest
levied up to the day of the ICC-1 Arbitration decision, US$395,000
as reimbursement for procedural costs associated with the ICC-1
Arbitration, and US$450,000 in legal costs for a total amount of
approximately US$9.7
million.
Interests in connection with late
payment will continue to be levied until full recovery of the Award
is made.
The ICC-1 Arbitration award, in
accordance with article 35.6 of the applicable ICC Rules, is final
and may not be appealed by the parties. It is immediately enforceable and capable of
being granted execution by any competent court.
Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive of Zenith,
commented:
"We are very pleased to have now concluded the
first chapter of our journey in international legal arbitrations
with a victory, confirming the merit of our position and
representing formal recognition of the damages we have suffered
because of the arbitrary conduct of the Tunisian
authorities.
Our sole focus shall now turn to the ICC-2 and ICSID
arbitrations with the goal of seeking redress for the significant
damages the Company has suffered in Tunisia in relation to its oil
production and development portfolio, with claims of US$130 million
and US$503 million respectively.
The final decision in respect of ICC-2 is expected by the
close of February 2025 with the publication of the decision
expected during the summer of 2025. The hearings for the ICSID
Arbitration are expected to take place during December 2025, with a
final decision expected in the first or second quarter of
2026.
The ICC-1 Award is testament to the resilience of Zenith that
has been able to wholly shoulder the sizeable burden of costs
inherent to international arbitrations without third-party
litigation funding, as well as the strength of our legal team
comprised of Professor Thomas Clay (Clay Arbitration) and Maitre
Simon Le Wita (Charles Russell Speechlys -
CRS, Paris).
I
thank all shareholders for their patience and support over the
years. I look forward with great optimism to
2025."
Further Information:
|
Zenith Energy Ltd
Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer
|
Tel: +1 (587) 315 1279
E: info@zenithenergy.ca
|
Notes to Editors:
Zenith Energy Ltd. is a revenue
generating, independent energy company with energy production,
exploration and development assets in North Africa, the US
and Europe. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange
Main Market (LSE: ZEN), the Euronext Growth of the Oslo Stock
Exchange (OSE: ZENA) and the Pink Markets of the OTC
(OTC PINK: ZENAF).
Zenith's strategic focus is on
pursuing development opportunities through the development of
proven revenue generating energy production assets, as well as
low-risk exploration activities in assets with existing
production.
For more information, please
visit: www.zenithenergy.ca
Twitter: @zenithenergyltd
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3A5PRJb
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)
Disclosure
The information contained within
this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU)
No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
("MAR"). Upon the
publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information
Service ("RIS"), this
inside information is now considered to be in the public
domain.